Police and Coroner investigate the scene where the body of the young boy was found on the second floor of a townhome in the 100 block of East Italia Street in Covina on Jan. 11, 2018. A small fire appears to have also been set in the home. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A woman who was bloody and running down a street in Covina early Friday morning when police saw her, is now a suspect, police say, in the death of a toddler whose body was found in a nearby townhome.

The body of the young boy was found Friday, Jan. 11, on the second floor of the townhome in the 100 block of East Italia Street, according to Covina police Sgt. David Rodriguez. A small fire appears to have also been set in the home.

“We’re looking at her as a suspect for homicide,” Rodriguez said.

Police believe the unidentified woman is the child’s mother and Rodriguez said he expects she will be arrested once she is released from psychiatric hold, he said. Police plan to question her at the hospital.

A van from the LA County Coroner’s Office is parked in front of a home in Covina where a toddler was found dead early Friday, Jan. 11. (Photo by Dean Musgrove/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/SCNG)

The investigation began about 3:25 a.m. when a Covina sergeant “observed a partially clothed female adult running in the middle of the street at 300 N. Second Ave.,” Rodriguez said.

The woman was not cooperative with officers, Rodriguez said.

“Officers observed she had what appeared to be blood spatter on parts of her body but that she had no injuries. She attempted to flee from officers but was unsuccessful in her flight,” Rodriguez said.

Officers questioned the woman, whose name was not released, and “she made statements that led officers to believe there might be a potential victim whose whereabouts were not yet known at the time because of her refusal to provide any information,” Rodriguez said.

Officers were able to determine she lived in a townhouse about a block away on Italia Street, police said.

Officers went to the home and found the small fire burning and the boy’s body, Rodriguez said. No one else was found in the home. The child did show signs of trauma but Rodriguez could not release the nature of his injuries due to the ongoing investigation.

Covina police detectives and coroner officials were investigating inside the townhome until about 3:30 p.m.

Neighbors gathered nearby watching the activity and talking about what might have happened.

“I can’t believe that she did it,” one woman said, standing near her townhome garage.

The townhomes are located off the main downtown strip of Covina where restaurants, coffee shops, barbershops and hair salons line the street.

Kathya Hernandez, 28, of Covina said when she started her shift around 7 a.m. at a nearby smoothie shop the whole block was already roped off and investigators filled the area.

The city’s Police Department along with other public offices are also near the townhomes.

“We don’t really get calls there, so that’s why it was kind of surprising,” Rodriguez said about the townhomes that were built a few years ago. “You could literally throw a baseball to where it’s at from over here.”

Authorities are still trying to determine what led up to the child’s death. They ask anyone with information on the case to call Detective Tim Statler at 626-384-5622; the watch commander at 626-384-5665; or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of several national and international news events. She’s worked for media outlets serving Southern California readers covering education, local government, entertainment and all things nerd including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three and lover of all things adorable.

City News Service is a regional wire service covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. Its reporting and editing staff cover public safety, courts, local government and general assignment stories. Contact the City News Service newsroom at 310-481-0404 or news@socalnews.com.

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